Anton Yelchin

Born on March 11, 1989, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Yelchin was the son of professional figure skaters Viktor and Irina Yelchin. Despite having been popular performers with the Leningrad Ice Ballet, Yelchin's parents - both Soviet Jews who were denied the chance to represent their country at the 1972 Olympic Games due to discrimination - immigrated to the United States soon after their son was born, where they were granted asylum as political refugees. Settling in Tarzana, CA, his parents found work as figure skating coaches, while Yelchin declared his intentions of becoming an actor when he was four years old. With his parent's encouragement, Yelchin began taking acting classes. By the time...